I met a difficult stranger
On my journey of life
I was a bubbling youth
And he was a forlorn dream.
Frail and weak he was
With a sharp mind yet
A self-made billionaire
With life lessons adept.
His hair was all silver
His back was bent in a U
His hands were gnarly and wrinkled
His cheeks red like a strawberry tart.
A beat pulsed in his blood
His ears had failed him long before
His eyes shut under the burning sun
Sweat flowed freely down his brow.
Flies disturbed his quiet sleep
Wisdom echoed in him deep
Not bothered about the creep
Life to him was a divine reprieve.
His faith in God: rock solid
His trust in fate: unperturbed
His hope from life: invincible
His passion of being: divine.
His wife sat by his side steadfast
His daughter committed to his care
His grandson given to his service
His kith looking on in awe.
I stood there watching and absorbing
The stranger, Old Age at its peak
God’s glory danced and rejoiced in him
I learnt patiently what only life can teach.
Cambridge University Hospital